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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 21 of 21. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by SLS on November 30, 2006, at 6:19:49
For me, Lamictal produces memory and cognitive impairments, especially at dosages above 200mg.
Does anyone else experience these?
- Scott
Posted by cecilia on November 30, 2006, at 6:52:56
In reply to Lamictal and cognitive / memory side effects, posted by SLS on November 30, 2006, at 6:19:49
I did, when I tried Lamictal. Mainly reversing sentences, for example, at the grocery store, saying things like please put the bag in the milk instead of put the milk in the bag. Cecilia
Posted by Quintal on November 30, 2006, at 8:12:57
In reply to Lamictal and cognitive / memory side effects, posted by SLS on November 30, 2006, at 6:19:49
I had trouble reading when I first started Lamictal, but this seemed to go away after a few weeks. I think I also had some of the sentance reversing Cecilia describes, but I tend to do that anyway. It got worse during the first few weeks of treatment though.
Q
Posted by clint878 on November 30, 2006, at 9:37:48
In reply to Lamictal and cognitive / memory side effects, posted by SLS on November 30, 2006, at 6:19:49
Interesting you point out the reversing words in sentences difficulty, because I had that problem as well; however, it was not caused by the Lamictal. It was caused by the Sam-E that I took.
I still have not been able to find any evidence of such impairment caused by Lamictal. I have improved significantly in terms of cognitive performance since starting the drug, including on word-finding difficulties.
Posted by Sebastian on November 30, 2006, at 11:36:45
In reply to Lamictal and cognitive / memory side effects, posted by SLS on November 30, 2006, at 6:19:49
Yes. It made me feel stupid and I found myself doing stupid things like bumping into stuff.
Posted by Quintal on November 30, 2006, at 11:47:47
In reply to Re: Lamictal and cognitive / memory side effects » SLS, posted by clint878 on November 30, 2006, at 9:37:48
I've read many reports by people suffering quite alarming decreases in word finding/processing while taking Lamictal - some allegedly on a par with the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. This seems quite common; perhaps there are many people who either don't notice or aren't troubled by it though?
May I ask which tests were used to determine your increase in word-finding performance?
Q
Posted by Phillipa on November 30, 2006, at 12:33:49
In reply to Re: Lamictal and cognitive / memory side effects » clint878, posted by Quintal on November 30, 2006, at 11:47:47
Gee I didn't write it down but I wonder if the time when I couldn't read in bed cause my eyes were reading to fast was when I was trying lamictal? Only got to 50mg excess salivation gross. Love Phillipa
Posted by tensor on November 30, 2006, at 14:33:24
In reply to Lamictal and cognitive / memory side effects, posted by SLS on November 30, 2006, at 6:19:49
>For me, Lamictal produces memory and cognitive impairments, especially at dosages above 200mg.
>Does anyone else experience these?I have to agree with clint878, I find an improvement in cognitive skills, hard to put a finger on it, but overall enhancement, faster at writing and such.
Do you have any improvement in mood? It just keeps me tired and flat. Still at 100mg. Possibly more effective for bipolar depression than for unipolar. Appointment with pdoc 20th dec, will reassess then. Don't you feel the tiredness?
/Mattias (this took 9secs to write :-) )
Posted by blueberry on November 30, 2006, at 15:38:41
In reply to Lamictal and cognitive / memory side effects, posted by SLS on November 30, 2006, at 6:19:49
> For me, Lamictal produces memory and cognitive impairments, especially at dosages above 200mg.
>
> Does anyone else experience these?
>
>
> - Scott
Yeah Scott, I experienced that too. And I only did 50mg - 100mg. The first 3 days actually felt pretty decent, but then they turned around into a much worse depression than I started with. On two more trys the same pattern repeated. I was never able to stay with it long enough to see if the cognitive slowing would have gone away.
Posted by gardenergirl on November 30, 2006, at 17:21:36
In reply to Lamictal and cognitive / memory side effects, posted by SLS on November 30, 2006, at 6:19:49
Hi Scott,
I had that with dose increases over 100 mg. What I noticed the most was word-finding problems and word-substitution. It was noticeable to my husband and my mother. My old pdoc didn't think it was related to the Lamictal, but when I looked back at when I made changes and when this started (usually 2 weeks or so after an increase), it was pretty clear. I backed it down to 100 mg again, and they went away. I'm now back up to 150 mg, and I didn't get the problem this time. The itchy skin I was associating with the dose increases is also not back, though summer is over, so that might have been a coincidence.Strange, though. I almost think it's a good idea to keep daily records of what I took and what I experience, but I'm not yet that organized.
gg
Posted by clint878 on November 30, 2006, at 18:51:13
In reply to Re: Lamictal and cognitive / memory side effects » clint878, posted by Quintal on November 30, 2006, at 11:47:47
There were no tests, but most of these reports also don't have any tests to back them up. Perhaps another cause is to blame?
For example, word-finding difficulties have been described in mania. When mania resolved, the word-finding difficulties also disappeared. I had a similar experience with antidepressants. At first, I was so depressed that I couldn't care about anything. As I recovered enough from the depression, I noticed that my memory was poor, that I had aches and pains, and so on. I attributed them to the medication, but they eventually resolved when I recovered fully from depression.
It's easy to place blame on medications for all of life's ills, but there are many cases where the original condition or some other cause is to blame.
Posted by Quintal on November 30, 2006, at 19:36:52
In reply to Re: Lamictal and cognitive / memory side effects » Quintal, posted by clint878 on November 30, 2006, at 18:51:13
Well I accept that possibility clint, although I was actually thinking the opposite might be the case - as you say, that your perceived cognitive benefits may be due to symptoms of the underlying disorder being resolved. I've never had a problem like that with antidepressants or any other drug that I recall. Now that I think more carefully about it I recall that words on a page would seem to rearrange themselves so that I'd have to go back and read them two or three times to understand them properly, and by then of course I had forgotten the meaning of the whole sentence. So there was no point in even thinking about trying to read a book..............
Almost as if lamotrigine were causing temporary dyslexia.
This was no real problem for me, but imagine somebody working as say a secretary and the difficulty it could cause them. That's why I think word-finding difficulty should be recognised and included in the patient information leaflet, since it is a frequent complaint of people being treated with lamotrigine, even if it is as you suggest a sign that the mood disorder is beginning to stabilize.
I'm puzzled by the resistance. As with all medications I accept that some people escape common side effects, or even receive benefits in areas where others are impaired (I found cognitive enhancement with benzos at low doses contrary to expert opinion), but there are few things more annoying in psychiatry than suffering some troubling side effect and having it discounted.
As far as research is concerned, a brief Google seemed to be turning up "lamotrigine seems no more likely to cause word-finding difficulties than other anticonvulsants". Thereby implying lamotrigine does indeed cause this problem but is no worse than the others. The last time I checked word-finding difficulties could be quite severe with other anticonvulsants.
Q
Posted by SLS on November 30, 2006, at 19:52:21
In reply to Re: Lamictal and cognitive / memory side effects » clint878, posted by Quintal on November 30, 2006, at 19:36:52
> ...your perceived cognitive benefits may be due to symptoms of the underlying disorder being resolved.
This is a very likely explanation.
- Scott
Posted by theo on November 30, 2006, at 21:02:16
In reply to Lamictal and cognitive / memory side effects, posted by SLS on November 30, 2006, at 6:19:49
> For me, Lamictal produces memory and cognitive impairments, especially at dosages above 200mg.
>
> Does anyone else experience these?
>
>
> - ScottFor me it was at 150mg, couldn't go above 100mg really.
Posted by theo on November 30, 2006, at 21:05:34
In reply to Re: Lamictal and cognitive / memory side effects, posted by cecilia on November 30, 2006, at 6:52:56
> I did, when I tried Lamictal. Mainly reversing sentences, for example, at the grocery store, saying things like please put the bag in the milk instead of put the milk in the bag. Cecilia
Weird, I would type things backwards! I'm currently retrying Lamictal at just 50mg to see if I get any relief. If not, I won't up the dosage, discontinue it and mark it off the list forever.
Posted by gardenergirl on November 30, 2006, at 22:46:17
In reply to Re: Lamictal and cognitive / memory side effects, posted by SLS on November 30, 2006, at 19:52:21
> > ...your perceived cognitive benefits may be due to symptoms of the underlying disorder being resolved.
>
> This is a very likely explanation.
>
>
> - ScottWell, except when they stop and start along with dose changes.
Of course there's also normal aging to consider. (Eek!)
gg
Posted by clint878 on December 1, 2006, at 7:24:31
In reply to Re: Lamictal and cognitive / memory side effects » clint878, posted by Quintal on November 30, 2006, at 19:36:52
Posted by BryanII on December 2, 2006, at 21:21:40
In reply to Re: Lamictal and cognitive / memory side effects, posted by SLS on November 30, 2006, at 19:52:21
> > ...your perceived cognitive benefits may be due to symptoms of the underlying disorder being resolved.
>
> This is a very likely explanation.
>
>
> - ScottThat's how I see it. Improvement in mood, but also relief from either cognitive slow down (depression) or agitated, disjointed thinking (not quite hypomania).
I still feel much less sharp than my old self, but a lot better than in recent years. Not sure if lamictal is causing any problems because I've had net improvement. I do have to concentrate harder to get mental work and writing done.
Bryan
Posted by Basia on December 5, 2006, at 13:27:52
In reply to Lamictal and cognitive / memory side effects, posted by SLS on November 30, 2006, at 6:19:49
> For me, Lamictal produces memory and cognitive impairments, especially at dosages above 200mg.
>
> Does anyone else experience these?
>
>
> - ScottTo start with it did and then I got less forgetful and foggy-minded after several weeks/a few months. However, the change in my mood was so immense that I was willing to put up with it. However, I actually find my mind clearer now that I am not in such a negative mood. I am on 400mg a day.
Posted by tensor on December 5, 2006, at 13:32:16
In reply to Re: Lamictal and cognitive / memory side effects » SLS, posted by Basia on December 5, 2006, at 13:27:52
Hi Basia,
>To start with it did and then I got less forgetful and foggy-minded after several weeks/a few months. However, the change in my mood was so immense that I was willing to put up with it. However, I actually find my mind clearer now that I am not in such a negative mood. I am on 400mg a day.
I'm at 100mg Lamictal for augmenting AD's and to prevent depressive relapses. All it does is making me tired, I've been on it for several months now. What do you take it for? Is it less sedating at higher doses? When did it kick in for you?
/Mattias
Posted by psychobot5000 on December 7, 2006, at 15:25:46
In reply to Lamictal and cognitive / memory side effects, posted by SLS on November 30, 2006, at 6:19:49
Just wanted to add my experience, which was similar to others'. The cognitive side-effects are very real.
For the first few days on Lamictal, the mood benefit was great enough that my mind was clearly functioning better--my depressive pseudodementia was all but gone. However, the initial mood relief passed within days (except for a bump after a dose-increase), and left me more depressed than when I started. So I lost the initial cognitive benefits that went with the relief of my underlying disorder. But beyond that, thinking gradually began to feel more slowed, especially after moving up to 50mg. I had word-finding difficulties, felt a less competent driver, and felt as though there was a bit of fog preventing my mind from having its normal (minimal) precision. It felt unnatural an unpleasant.
I won't know whether it would have stopped on its own, because the longer I was on the stuff the more depressed it seemed to make me, and I stopped (both times) after no more than several weeks.
I looked it up at the time, and found that most anticonvulsants seem to cause cognitive side-effects, but that lamotrigine is supposed to be better than most, at least for some patients. Clearly not all of them.
This is the end of the thread.
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